tiguy99

Ok...for the sake of space saving aspirations, I'll keep this story short. Ok. Now, this afternoon, I continue on my quest for a pearl white ES. The car:
1995 pearl white, 78K on dash, excellent condition....all was well including the test drive (where the car was on E...similar to a familiar episode of Sienfeld where Kramer pushes the car all day long then abandons the car with the salesman in the middle of the highway). Things were go until....the sales guy begins to ask if I have a trade. First I tell him no and to proceed with the deal. He takes one look at my Q45 glistening in the sun and begins to aks me how much would I want for it is I decided to sell it after all. I tell him, 5000. (91 model, maroon/tan lthr, 122K low highway miles for year, good condition ect ect). After this, he tries to reason with me about trade in ect...I simply tell him, look why don't we work out the deal without the trade and if things look good, we won't need to ect ect. After going back and fourth for 5 mins, I finally decide to let the car be appraised. (My first mistake). Anyhow, after the sales manager looks at the car...he starts giving me some bull___ about how he will give me 1200. I laugh and say that's bull. Even at an auto auction OR at a salvage yard...no one pays 1200 for a Q45 even if the thing's banged up. My car is great...what the hell I wanna let it go for such a crappy price? After a few more words and like 15 mins more...I walked. GET THIS...during the test drive, besides noticing weak break pads (just changed mine along with calipers a week ago believe me...I know), the sales guy went on about how the car had one owner and traded it in on a new Mazda 6. I must admit, the vehicle was nice BUT after a carfax check...he later ate his words when we discovered I would be owner number 3!!! Wow...we learn something new everyday. Any ideas guys? I'm pressing not to get frustrated. I've been pre approved by my bank and I'm ready to buy yesterday. This is what I want:
1994-1996 Lexus ES300
50-80K miles
Mint-excellent condition
leather
cd-changer (optional)

Is this too hard to ask?
I'm in the Chicagoland area.

tiguy99

Ohh yeah...the dealer....Bigger's Mazda

BAWLEX94

tiguy99

you sound a lot like me back in april of 2002....i was looking for the exact same car you were.....except i wanted a gold ES , 1992-1996, with 50-80k miles...... i got lucky though at southern imports in charlotte....found a 94, looked great....and had 58,650 on the odometer.....got it for 11500.....and all i have had to do thus far to it is replace the valve cover gaskets...everything else seems to be perfect....so dont worry man.......good cars are out there, and you'll find one.

lexusation

how much do you want to spend if you dont mind me asking?

buddy of mine has a 98 es300 for sale for around $15.5k, cant remember exactly ...70k miles i think... pearl white on black leather, cd changer, heated seats, new tires, dealer certified and emission tested, rust proofed, all maint. up todate, includes dealer report stating its all original, accident free, car fax report, etc etc..

tiguy99

For the car...I'm looking to spend no more than 10000. I know I can deal. That's not the problem...they just wanted to rip me off on my trade. It looks like I'm going to sell my Q. The good news is that I've got several prospects inquiring about my car and 5000 or best offer sounds very good right now. (Considering the fact I spent like 7500 total (9500 if you include repairs and service)

tiguy99

By the way, I hear the 94-96 have 210 horsepower...is this true guys? It certainly felt that way and much quicker acceleration off the line than my mom's immaculate 94 Infiniti J30. I know the 92-93 have 185 horsepower (i.e. Lexus brochure)

XenonES3

210....I WISH!!!!

94-96 pull 188 ponies.

tiguy99

Really...then you guys need to take a look at this...

http://www.cars.com/carsapp/national...=1994&x=13&y=5

steviej

iTrader: (1)

Could be a misprint or the author has quoted the wrong information. Maybe he had specs for another car. Maybe the one in the picture. Correct me if I am wrong, but the picture looks an awful lot like an LS not an ES.

The file name of the picture in that article is: 94330LSzz400yzzyyzz4552.jpg

moral of the story, don't believe everything you read.

steviej

squarehat

Interesting. The header says 1994 ES300, the pic is of a 95-97 LS400, and the review describes the 1999 ES300 (look at the dates, and 99 was the first year for the 210HP VVT-i engine)

Also, I don't think the 95-96 had any engine differences over the 94s. The 1MZ-FE in the 97-98 did put out 200HP, though. Does anybody know more about this variable valve timing without the intelligent control?

XenonES3

Many of cars.com's reviews have errors and misconceptions.

Try edmunds.com or Carpoint, they ACTUALLY test the cars and have reviews written by editors, therefore they are far more reliable.